Hallo.

I just finished a truly massive shop update. However, unlike normal, I will not be posting all the photos here as well with details. I’m deep in writing and applying and suchlike things right now and really can’t spare the time.

The shop has a lot in it again though. And, as usual, all the breed and fiber info is in each item so you don’t have to go searching for “oh crap, what sort of fiber is targhee again?”

Have a whole bunch of pretty new jacob roving, so expect to see more of that.

Targhee, Jacob, Shetland, SW Merino, Dorset, Wensleydale

And a new grey sampler with Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, and Norwegian. I’m one breed short there of an “ancient breed” sampler. Should consider that.

Also a TON of new stitch marker sets. Like this one. Some extra large ones, a lot of normal ones, and some lace/sock ones.

I’ve also finished some yarn, have some new socks to show off, and probably other things I’m forgetting, but no time. Back to writing.

Online applications are nice and a pain in the butt at the same time.

In answer to the question about my defense… They’ve read my dissertation by that point, and they long ago (4 months before approximately at that point) had a meeting with me where they grilled me about my work, so they already know I know it. So if I don’t blow my dissertation, I’m fine. The only real remaining question is if I’m going to need edits to the thesis and if I’m going to need to do a few additional experiments to nail things down.

~The Gnome

So, the kidney stone has passed and I’ve healed. Yay. The bizarre shooting shoulder pain has passed and seems to be healed, with the help of a lot of gentleness and stretching. Hope to start some stabilizer and core restrengthening and stretching work today so this doesn’t happen again. Those small muscles get you every time, and I just haven’t been keeping them up.

Dissertation continues. I wish I had a better way to estimate if I was making good progress, or if it’s as slow as it feels.

Will get update about the vacation shortly.

Anyway, there is new fiber! Much of it because…

About 25 pounds of processed fiber, were waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from the trip! Making space for them was a trip!

Lots of totally new to Gnomespun fiber, and a new concept for Gnomespun, small samplers!

Inspired by my visit to Arthur’s Seat outside Edinburgh in the spring of ’03… Spring comes, to rich dark earth, and the heath blooms, yellow and green washing across the hills, warm and deep. This is the softest BL I’ve ever felt. I’d wear it next to my skin.

Spring on the Heath – Border Leicester – 4oz – 114g – Carded Roving

A really hard to photograph one, in a new fiber to Gnomespun, Cotswold, a member of the illustrious longwools. The coiled photo is probably a little more accurate in the way it shows the purple. The thing really does glow though. It’s luminous, not neon, but it glows.

Fire arcs into the purple night sky, brilliant luminous gold and red, flickering as the sparks fly…

“And there’s fire, fire, out in the barn, Father,
Fire in the chicken house, too.
And the flames run so high they are scorchin’ the sky.
And there’s not a damn thing we can do. ” ~Fire by David Mallett

This is softer than any cotswold I’ve met before, with all the luster and drape.

Fire in the Barn – Cotswold – 4oz – Carded Roving

Water crashes down almost obscuring the grey brown granite New England stones that peek out from the center of the river… This is a nice heathered romney, on the finer end of the breed, but still within the standard.

Water on the Rocks – Romney – 4oz – Carded Roving

Warm, ooey, gooey, sweet and sour orange marmalade, curled up with your cat in the sun on a summer day…

Marmalade – Clun Forest – 4oz – Carded Roving

Another new Gnomespun fiber, Gotland, and another longwool. Similar in overall feel to Wensleydale, I think.

Emerald crystals, growing in abundance, a veritable city of shimmering green…

And finally, ANOTHER new fiber to Gnomespun, Old English Southdown. Oh BOY, I love this fiber. It’s a downs wool, spiral crimp, with all the loft and spring of the other downs wools, but so SOFT! It’s like a cloud! Not at all like the spongy stuff I’ve sampled. I’ll be spinning up a bunch of this for the trade for the original fleece, and maybe some for myself!

Warm reds and heathered golds blend and swirl in the breeze, raising a soft susurrus around your feet…

Autumn Leaves – Old English Southdown – 4oz – Carded Roving

Now, another new concept for Gnomespun, small samplers. These are a little more work to put together, but they seemed to be something people were interested in.

First, small downs wool samplers in “Bryophyta” and “Heady Brew” colorways.

4oz total (1oz each) of: Dorset, Clun Forest, Tunis, Southdown

Then an 8oz and a 4oz version of “Natural Greys” samplers, undyed (since that’s the point of this one)

8oz or 4oz (2oz/1oz each) of: Southdown, Border Leicester, Romney, Gotland

And that’s all that’s new for the moment. Everything’s up on the shop.

Oh, And here’s a set of stitch markers I did for a large order that also went out late.

And that’s all for now. Back to writing. Oh right, and lunch.

~The Gnome

Whee! Pretty good weekend. A couple chances to go out, but instead I stayed home and rested a little, then went to visit my parents on Sunday. I think this was a good choice.

I’m gonna go backwards. ‘Cause I feel like it and you can’t stop me! Bwaahahahahaha! Ahem.

Sunday I went home to visit my parents. Always a good time. Said hi to the goose.

::waves to the goose:: Isn’t she a pretty goose? She’s lonely.

We worked on the garden, the bed that’s where the tulip poplar was before it blew over. Got it pretty much done, plants moved in, weeds pulled out, and mulched nice and deep. This is as we were just a bit into it.

Mmm dirt and green. A good day, even if it meant sacrificing some spinning time with my spinning buddies.

Saturday I didn’t accomplish very much. I’m fine with that, I wasn’t trying to. I needed a day to decompress. I did get a few things dyed and done though.

It’s always interesting to see how different fibers react to the same colors and process. For example, here’s the same colorway I posted earlier, but in Wensleydale instead of Cashmere/Tussah

“Press closer, little Nightingale,” cried the Tree, “or the Day will come before the rose is finished.”

The Nightingale and the Rose – 4oz x 2 – Combed Wensleydale Top

And a fun one, rather than my usual “serious” colorways…

Yeah, it’s that color. You remember, when you were a kid, how every superhero was made by a radioactive pool or bug or monkey? The color that turns small reptiles into ninjas? This reminds me of exactly that color. Yes, it is that bright.

If you’d prefer, you can also call it “Matricaria” because it’s the color of the little Pineapple Weed blooms.

How to Make a Superhero – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

The deepest purple blue, intense and saturated, shining and softly heathered…

Deep Centauria – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk Combed Top

A soft heady scent floats up from the deep pink rose petals, the soft sheen gleaming in the romantic candlelight…

Dried Damask – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

All of these are up on the shop.

These are two that are dyed, but someone already has first dibs on.

Dark Rhubarb Cobbler – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

Amethyst – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk Combed Top

I also made these, sock stitch markers! The rings are much smaller, sized for size 5 needles or smaller, and made to be overall very light so they don’t disrupt your lace or sock knitting. The middle and left will be up on the shop when I actually manage to take real photos of them (probably tomorrow). The ones on the right were on my long to-do list (which I’m SLOWLY catching up with). Stones are…

Amazonite – Malachite – Garnet
Leopardskin Jasper – Agate – Leopardskin Jasper
Lapis – Aventurine – Lapis

Aaaand I think that’s about it.

~The Gnome

When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever,
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

Part of being an adult is being able to admit when you can’t.

I do not like this part of being an adult.

I do not like the word “can’t” very much at all. It makes me cranky and obstinate, rather like a donkey which will not go somewhere simply because you’re trying to lead him there.

But nonetheless, it is sometimes necessary, and right now, I can’t. ::sighs::

The balance has been lost. It needs to be regained, which may require a trip into Mordor, but it must be done.

So, shop updates will be a little less frequent. I will not be accepting any new commissions until the one I have, outstanding projects, agreements, and the trades that still aren’t done have been completed. At that point, things will be reevaluated, but I will also be writing my dissertation by that point, which means I will be applying for jobs and, hopefully, interviewing.

But anyway, I did get a little done.

I got these made… or rather, remade. It turned out one of the findings I had gotten was substandard and shed bits all over the place. So I remade these carnelian stitch markers. And because it took me so bloody long, I also made a pair of Leopardskin Jasper ones to go with them.

And these leopardskin ones as a bonus for a recent large order.

Also, for the shop…

Fire ripples and glows along the slowly burning wood, creating waves in the air as the heat warms your skin. The fire is burning long and low now, the colors deeper, richer, the coals glowing deceptively welcoming…

Into the Fire – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk – Combed Top

Capturing the sheen and depth of this fiber is really hard in photographs.

I also have some silk and some merino/angora drying as we speak.

In other news… LOOM!

I actually got this loom on tuesday. But only just got it unloaded. My living room is exploding. I need to clean the bedroom so Ash can move in there. Also this guy needs some cleaning, and I put the beater bar on the wrong direction. Easily fixed.

It’s a 20″ Hammett counterbalance floor loom. 4 treadle, 4 harness. It’s quite lovely, just needs some cleaning and to be re-hung, which I think I can do. I do think that full love of it will have to wait a bit though, as I need to rehang things and get/make a ratchet advance lever for the front beam. And before that, I have other projects that need to be taken care of. No big deal. It’s pretty!

::grins::

Ok, back to working on this paper. Stupid yeast didn’t grow last night, making today paper day instead of tomorrow.

~The Gnome

So yesterday I promised some better photos.

And so there will be, better photos. Well… of some of the fiber. Diamonds in the Rust and That Old Black Magic are already gone.

But for the others…

Moss growing in the deep woods, hanging off the ancient trees and catching the drops of cool morning dew under your feet, a green carpet stretching off into the fog…

Moss – 4oz – Carded Jacob Roving

“Black” velvet, a red so dark you can almost not see the color, with an unsavory, but accurate name…

Oxblood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving

A deep and warm golden brown, heathered with age…

Hardwood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving

I also made sets of two of the demo-markers I posted yesterday.

Sodalite, with a Howlite master marker:

and

Lapis – Amethyst – Garnet

More to come soon!

~The Gnome